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2 francs - Trésorerie aux Armées type 1919
| Issuer | Trésorerie aux Armées |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917-1919 |
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| Printer | Imprimerie nationale, Paris, France |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette by L. Vallée shows a returning poilu soldier advancing with outstretched arms toward his family — a peasant wife with arms open and two children, one holding a laurel wreath. The denomination '2 FRANCS' and issuer title 'TRESORERIE AVX ARMEES' appear in letterpress, with the printer's imprint 'IMP.NAT.' at foot. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Violet-tinted note with a central ornamental cartouche enclosing the interlaced 'RF' monogram on a dotted ground, flanked by two columns of redemption text. Corner medallions bear the value '2F', and an oak-leaf guilloche border frames the entire design. A repetitive underprint of 'ARMEES TRESORERIE AUX' fills the background. |
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| Comments |
The Trésorerie aux Armées notes were military field treasury instruments, issued specifically to French troops on active service rather than to the civilian economy. The 1919 designation in the series name is somewhat misleading — production began in 1917, and the notes circulated through the final years of the war and into the immediate postwar demobilization period. Their use was deliberately restricted to military zones; they could not legally be spent in ordinary French commerce, which was intended to prevent currency from draining out of the war economy.
Ludovic Vallée, a prolific designer at the Imprimerie nationale, worked across multiple wartime emissions. The restricted circulation status means surviving examples with genuine field use wear are actually scarce — many were collected as souvenirs by returning soldiers rather than redeemed.